Manifold



F. R. HIGLEY Aug. 18, 1936.

MAN IFOLD I Filed Aug. 18, 1955 INVENTOR J RA/V/r [R Hazy ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 18, 1936 warren STATES PATENT OFFIQE MANIFOLD Frank R. Hi'gley, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Application August 18, 1933, Serial. No. 685,759 14 Claims. (or; 123-141 This invention relates to. fuel intake manifolds for multiple cylinder internal combustion engines. The: function of such a manifold is to receive a mixture formed from liquid fuel and air from a carburetor, and deliver thismixture to a number of inlet ports in the engine cylinder block, each port usually serving a pair of cylinders. The manifold thus has a master passage leading from the carburetor, usually vertically downward, and a plurality of distributing: passages, one for each cylinder port, leading generally radially. from a base part of the. master passage; so that the of. flow from the mast r passage into each distributing passage includes a substantially right angle bend at the base part of the manifold. It is the general object. of this invention to improve conditions of flow in. this base part of the manifold..

The mixture handled by themanifoldis as nearly as possible wholly gaseous, but in practice as is well known in the art, the mixture delivered by the carburetor is usually only partly gaseous including a substantial amount of liquid, although the latter may bev in more or less finely divided entrained particles. These liquid particles because of their inertia, are precipitated out of the stream, at the base part of the manifold, against the wall of the latter opposite the master passage. It is a further object of this invention to effective- 30, ly avoid such precipitation and. instead provide a distribution of the liquid. part of the mixture away from the base part of the manifoldand into its distributing passages.

Under conditions of desired acceleration, a usual 35, difliculty is that the gaseous part of the mixture, owing to its lower specific gravity, will accelerate much more rapidly than the liquid part of the mixture which, owing to its relatively high specific gravity, will relatively lag behind; so that at 40 the commencement of acceleration the mixture actually delivered by the manifold will be unduly lean and acceleration will be retarded. It is another object of this invention to improve such conditions by increasing the velocity of liquid 45 travel through the manifold, at theexpense of slightly impeding the gaseous flow there-through so that an improved uniformity of mixture is had.

Another problem is to obtain equal distribution 50 of fuel from the master passage to the distributing passages. Another object of the invention is to provide that such distribution shall be improved as to the gaseous flow and substantially positively maintained. as to the liquid flow. [5 These objects are accomplished, briefly, by the arrangement of a rotor at the base part of the manifold opposite the master passage, against which. the liquid particles may impinge and from which they will be thrown into the distributing passages by centrifugal force, the rotor being ar- 5 ranged. to be actuated by the gaseous flow through the manifold.

A final object of the invention is to provide for adjustment. of such rotor, relative to the mouth of the master passage, that the rotor mayperform l0 theadditional function of a valve for controlling flow through the manifold and thus serve the purposeof the usual. throttle valve of the engine served by the manifold.

The exact nature. of this invention together 15 with further objects and advantages thereof will be app'arentzfrom the following description taken in. connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is an elevation view taken as from the port side of an internal combustion engine, 2 showing an inlet manifold embodying the invention,..and, in dot-dash. lines, indicating associated carburetor elements; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the same as in the plane of line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation 25 through parts appearing Figs. 1 and 2,. taken as in. the plane of line 3-3, Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a detail plan view as in the plane of line 44, Fig. 3.

With reference now to the drawing, the manifold" proper illustrated, is one for a six-cylinan der engine, having three inlet ports in its cylinder block, each leading to two of its cylinders. The principal elements ofv the manifold are as usual astem land three branches, 2, 3 and 4, providing respectively a master passage 5 leading downwardly into a base part 6 of the manifold, and three: distributing passages 1', leading from the base part E. The stem part I of the manifold has connection with a carburetor here indicated conventionallyas including as its essential elements, a needle valve 8' and associated Venturi restriction 9 The general; arrangement as thus far described will be recognized as old and well-known, to one familiar with the art, the general purpose of the manifold being to receive the fuel mixture delivcred bythe carburetor and in turn deliver this mixture as needed, to the several engine ports served by the branches 2, 3 andd of the manifold, flow through the manifold being as indicated by the arrows, Figs; 1, 2 and 3. 7

According to my invention, the manifold is so proportioned; that its? base part 6 is enlarged radially of the. axis of itsv master passage, and correspondingly flattened longitudinally of the axis,

l'2-n. as

so that'th'e mouths of the distributing passages 1, connecting with thejbase part, are widened to collectively include substantially the'entire periphery I of the base part, leaving in efiect partitions l ther'ebetween. Also, the mouths of the partition passages are of equal width where they join the 7 base part of the manifold.

. passage and carried by theclosure l2. More The base part of the manifold has an opening H in its wall' opposite the master passage 5,1but

substantially of greater diameter than the master passage, and for which a removable closure I2 is provided.

A purpose of this opening II is to permit the disposition of a rotor l3 inthe base part 6 of the manifold. This rotor is'co'axial with the master specifically, itis rotatably mounted upon a'post 4, which'is slidably mounted inthe closure, hav-.

:ing a cotter pin or the like Ma to retain it in the closure.

The rotor. is preferablygenerally.conicalhav V ing an anti-elastic surface presented to the mouth of the master passage, so as to act as. a hydrocone as will appear. It has a thrust bearing'on the end of the post I4 as conventionally indicated at l5, and spaced therefrom a steady bearing upon the post as conventionally indicated at N3; the arrangement being one whereby the rotor v 'is freelyrotatable upon the post. The rotor may preferably be ofsheet metal-as indicated so that ;'its weight is slight and its inertia will be a minimum The central part of the'rotor preferably. ex.- 7

' tends somewhat into the mouth .of the master the closure |2.

passage 5. Radially the rotor preferably has as great extentas' possible yet permitting a running its bearings dependent upon flow through the manifold.

Thestem' of the manifold, which is preferably cylindrical as indicated, is arranged to lead into the base part6 thereof in'such a manner as to provide an annulus |8 which may be preferably finished as indicated Fig; '3, concentric with the rotor. That'the rotor may 'be cooperative with this annulus to serve as a valve for controlling outlet from the master passage 5, the post I4 is. made longitudinally adjustable in its bearing in Means for the purpose are here conventionally indicated as by a Bowden wire l9 secured with the outer end of the post l4 and co-' operative wire sleeve 20 rigidly secured asby the bracket 20a;

The motion permitted the post I4 is such' that it may be moved between a full'open position,

that shown in Fig. 3; and an elevated closedjposi- .tion indicated by the broken lines Fig. 3, wherein the rotor |3 has just running clearance from the annulus boss l8, the sectional contour of the rotor, including its blades being such as to permit clearance for the blades in this'rotor position. 'That a fine limiting adjustment may be'had for the closed position, nuts 2l-may be threaded onto the post '|4, engageable with the tern part |2a of the closure member. 1 7 It is preferable that heat be applied to the base 7 part 'of' the master. passage. and particularly to the p'rojecting'parts loithereof. For this purpose themanifold castingis arranged to provide 'and along the distributing passages 1.

a pair of vertical hollows 2| adjacent the syn i metrically disposed projections I0, and a pair of hollows 22 adjacent the remaining projection l0, 7

the hollows 22 being separated from each other merely by atransverse web and each having an opening 23 leading outwardly. The hollows 2| are open both top and bottom and. each of the hollows 22 is open opposite the dividing web therebetween, top or bottom as the case may be.

The walls forming the openings 2| and 22 are extended asindicated Figs. 1 and 3, above and.

below the manifold distributing passages I. Also,

these walls are extended so as to connect both of the hollows 2| with the hollows 22 as indicated Figs. 2 and 3. A cover plate 24 generally of horseshoe form, is disposed above to close the upper connecting passages betweenthe hollows 2| and .the upper hollow '22. Similarly, the

closure l2 as at 25, is extended below the cover plate 24. I The arrangement is such that a passageway for a, heating medium is provided from one of the openings .23 by way of the corresponding hollow 22, both of the hollows. 2| in parallel relation, the other hollow 22 and its opening 23. The cover plate as well as the closure '|2.is removably securedin the positions des'cribedand illustratedas by bolts or screws 26.

Operation will be as follows. Assuming: the

manifold properly mounted on an engine and having its master passage connected to acarburetor as. above described, verticaladjustment of the post l4 willcause the rotor l3 to act as a valve in the mouth of the master passage 5, clos-' ing the master. passage as the rotor is raised, Figs.1'and 3.

All flow of the gaseous mixture from the master passage 5 will be generally downward and:out-' 7 Ward over the upper face of the rotor, which acts as a hydro-cone, and particularly past the blades 7 I! thereof imparting to the rotor a high speed of rotation Particles of liquid fuel entrained in the mixture, will impinge upon the rotor,:which,'by

centrifugal force, will throw these particlesrae dially outwardly and'generally into and along the distributing passages I. These passages preferably have a slight downward slope as they lead from the base part of the manifold, as indicated Fig. 1, so that the throw of the liquid particles from the rotor will move them as faras possible along the passages 1. thrown from the rotor against the parts lll of Those liquid particles the manifold will be volatilized by 'the heat 1 calized at these points. I

It will be noted that by the arrangement described the rotor will be maintained in operation at. all times even though as a valve it be in subsition assumingan equal rotor speed, thefperiphery of the rotor being higher relative to the distributing passages 1, the-liquid particles of the mixture will be thrown the farther along these passages. opening effect as avalvc, the spray of liquid therefrom will have distribution along the distributing passages generally radially inwards toward the rotor.

' Generally, atall times, the effect of the rotor will be to slightly impede the gaseous flow through the manifold owing to the obstructive effect of its blades While its effect upon the liquid particles of the mixture will'always be to accelerate their travel from the master passage 5 into These st'antially closed position; In such elevated po As the rotor is. lowered with I combined results are of particular advantage dur -V will be appreciated by one familiar with the art. Particularly itis tobe observed that all of the "distributing passages subtend equal peripheral parts of the rotor, where they join the base part of the manifold. Since the rotor will throw approximately uniformly throughout its periphery, the more so with the more rotative speed, the arrangement described provides a positive distribution, equally to all distributing passages, of any and all liquid particles in the mixture.

While I specifically illustrated and described an' adaptation of the invention to a manifold having three distributing passages and thus suitable for a six-cylinder motor, it will be apparent that the invention is equally applicable to the manifold for any number of cylinders arranged either in line or in a V, all as will be apparent to one familiar with the art.

What I claim is:

1. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master passage and distributing passage means leading from a base part thereof, a rotor arranged in said base part coaxial with said master passage, imperforate opposite said "for actuating said rotor to cause said particles to be thrown thereby into said distributing passage means, and means for axially adjusting said rotor, to control flow from said master passage, the corresponding rotor and manifold parts being arranged to provide suitable clearance for the purpose of said adjustment.

3. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master passage with a plurality of distributing passages leading divergently from a base part thereof, a rotor arranged in the hollow of said base part, in the path of flow from said master passage, to receive, and throw outwardly, by centrifugal force, nongaseous particles of a generally gaseous mixture fed through said manifold, and means for heating the walls of said manifold about said base part and including means forming passages for a heating medium adjacent said base part between said distributing passages.

4. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master inlet passage and distributing passage means leading divergently from a base part thereof, a rotor arranged in said base part with a face opposite said master passage and having associated actuating means, and means for adjusting said rotor lengthwise of said master passage axis for controlling flow through said manifold.

5. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master inlet passage with a plurality of distributing passages leading divergently from a base part thereof, a rotor mounted for free rotation within said manifold and without driving connection external of the latter, having a face located opposite said master passage and proportioned and arranged to receive substantially all liquid particles separated at said base part from a stream of generally gaseous mixture flowing through said manifold, and having vane means adapted-to cause said stream :toactuate said rotor, .saidrotor being disposed to dischargesaid particles centrifugally' toward said distributing passages.

6. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a base'part, aimaster passage leading thereto and a plurality of. distributing passages leading divergently therefrom, a rotor mounted for free rotation within said manifold base part,

about an axis. aligned with the mouth of said master, passage at said base part, said rotor having aiface part located oppositesaid master passage to receive liquid particles separated from a stream of generally gaseous-"mixture flowing through said manifold, and having vane means "adapted to cause said stream to actuate said rotor, :and means for adjusting said rotor lengthwise of said axis whereby said rotor face part will be cooperative with said master passage mouth, to control flow of said stream.

7-. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master inlet passage with a pliu ality of distributing passages leading divergently from a base partthereof, a rotor mounted for free ro' ta'tio'n within said manifold, having a face -locat ed opposite said master passage to receive liquid particles separated from a stream of generally gaseous mixture flowing through said manifold, and having vane means adapted to-cause said stream to actuate said rotor, said rotor being disposed to discharge said particles centrifugally toward said distributing passages, said distributing passages having relatively wide mouth parts collectively communicating with said base part substantially entirely about said rotor.

8. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a base part, a master passage leading thereto and a plurality of distributing passages leading divergently therefrom, a rotor mounted for free rotation within said manifold base part, about an axis aligned with the mouth of said master passage at said base part, said rotor having a face part located opposite said master passage to receive liquid particles separated from a stream of generally gaseous mixture flowing through said manifold, and having vane means adapted to cause said stream to actuate said rotor, and means for adjusting said rotor lengthwise of said axis whereby said rotor face part will be cooperative with said master passage mouth, to control flow of said stream, said distributing passages being arranged to collectively communicate with said base part substantially entirely about said axis.

9. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master inlet passage with a plurality of distributing passages leading divergently from a base part thereof, rotor means having a face part proportioned and arranged within said manifold base part opposite said master passage to receive substantially all liquid particles separated at said base part by their inertia from a stream of generally gaseous mixture emerging from said master passage during flow through said manifold, said rotor means having vane means arranged to provide for its actuation by the gaseous part of said stream, thereby taking kinetic energy from said gaseous part, and said rotor means having a peripheral part disposed to discharge said particles centrifugally, divergently from said master passage base part and into the mouths of said distributing passages, thereby imparting a substantial part of said energy to said particles, whereby during acceleration of said stream in the operation of said manifold, flow of the liquid part of said mixture is increased and flow of the gasej'ous part of themixture is correspondingly retarded, with consequent equalizing effect upon said mixture parts, the liquid particles of which would otherwise lag relative to the gaseous part.

10. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master inlet passage with a plurality of distributing passages leading divergently from a base part thereof, rotor means having a face part proportioned and arranged within said manifold base part opposite said master passage to receive substantially all liquid particles separated at said base part by their inertia from a stream of generally gaseous mixture emerging from said master passage during flow through said'manifold, said rotor means having vane means arranged to provide for its actuation by the gaseous part of said stream, thereby taking kinetic energy from said gaseous part, and said rotor means having a peripheral part disposed to discharge said particles centrifugally, divergently from said master passage base part and into the mouths of said distributing passages, thereby imparting a substantial part of said energy to said particles, said rotor means being light and'said vane means so constructed and arranged that the speed of said rotor means will be high relative to the velocity of gaseous flow through said manifold, and will be quickly responsive to the latter.

11. In a manifold for the purposedescribed and having a master inlet passage with a plurality of distributing passages leading divergently from a base part thereof,'a rotor mounted in said base part, having a face located opposite said master passage to receive substantially all liquid particles separated at said base part from a stream of generally gaseous mixture flowing through said manifold, said rotor being disposed for actuation to discharge said particles centrifugally toward said 'base part thereof, a rotor mounted for rotation within said manifold concentric with said master passage, having a face located opposite said master passage and of effectively imperforate area greater than the sectional area of said master passage, to receive substantially all liquid particles separated at said base part from a stream of gen erally gaseous mixture flowing through said manifold, said rotor having vane means peripherally located without the projected area of said master passage and adapted to cause said stream to actuate said rotor.

13. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master inlet passage with a plurality of distributing passages leading divergently from a base part thereof, a rotor mounted for rotation within said manifold concentric with said master passage, having a face located opposite said master passage and of effectively imperforate area greater than the sectional area of said master passage, to receive substantially all liquid particles separated at said base part from. a stream of generally gaseous mixture flowing through said manifold, said face being of anticlastic form to provide hydroconical characteristics to gaseous flow through said base part, said rotor having vane means peripherally located without the projected area of said master passage and adapted to cause said stream to actuate said rotor.

14. In a manifold for the purpose described and having a master inlet passage with a plurality of distributing passages leading'divergently from a base part thereof, a rotor mounted for rotation within said manifold, concentric with said master passage, having a face located opposite said master passage and of effectively imperforate area.

greater than the sectional area of said master passage, to receive substantially all liquid particles separated at said base part from a stream of generally gaseous mixture flowing through said manifold, said face being of anticlastic form to provide hydroconical characteristics, to gaseous flow through said base part, said rotor having vane means peripherally located without the projected area of said master passage and adapted to cause said stream to actuate said rotor, and means for adjusting the effective distance between said master passage and said rotor, for controlling said stream.

FRANK R. HIGLEY. 

